In this blog post I am covering some basic questions am getting again
and again from students who are applying for masters in ASE/ICS/Embedded
System. This is part one of this blog post since I might do another cover up post if
questions asked get a bit more interesting and cover more topics related to studying here.

1.How difficult is it to get internship as internship is included in ASE
course?

Getting an internship is not difficult. In fact it’s much easier than
getting a full time job.

Most of the students who started with me or even a year after me have an
internship now in reputed companies like Bosch, Daimler, Betrandt,
Fraunhofer. Not only ASE but students also from Embedded Systems and
ICS (Information and Communication Systems) have got internship in companies.
The most important thing is applying for different diverse companies and not
just aiming for the top reputed ones. The thing to note here is that the salary
difference is not much between a company like BMW and a start-up in Munich,
Stuttgart or in Berlin. And these cities have the maximum number of start-ups
and jobs. Also, Automotive Software Engineering is quite specialized and is
only provided by TU Chemnitz and München (as of 2015) and thus is in quite a
demand. I remember also few students who did not get internship in company and
started their internship in the university (which is quite good as well and
there are amazing topics) but after finishing their internship in the
university they again did an internship outside in an external
company. So I would suggest that there is nothing much to worry
about getting an internship/thesis. As for students from MNS I am not sure
whether anyone got an internship or even planning to do one but I heard it’s
not that difficult.

2.Does this internship require German language certificate? If so then
which level of German language certificate is required?

Mostly I don’t know anyone who had to submit any language certificate or
show his German professional skills (which if you possess makes getting an
internship a walk in the park I think) to get an internship. In face most job
posts are in German (around 95%) but you can still apply in English
and the recruitment agency might contact you back.

-Can we get internship in good companies?

I think I already covered it. But mostly there is no such thing as a
good or bad company. It’s more about whether you do internship in a good domain
with an interesting topic relevant to your field. So again don’t focus on
company. In fact even if you work for BMW the chances of getting a full time
job are slim unless you have good Germans Language skills and also technical
skills. Getting a PhD though is similar to internship and it’s not that
difficult. The salaries like I mentioned before doesn’t change much but there
are few companies which sometimes pay you more than then other (Robert Bosch
for example) and depends on what kind of internship you are doing (some
research internships also has grants and they pay you more but this is an
exceptional case and I only know one such person who was from Embedded and go
this).

2.According to your experience how good is the job prospect for a bit
average ASE graduate?

Not that difficult to get a job. But getting a job in top tier companies
is not that easy especially without German language skills and with no prior
work experience. But apart from that again the salary doesn’t vary much and
it’s rather a good choice to work in a domain which you actually like instead
of just running behind a company’s name and value. There are many companies
which have amazing projects and not that famous (my favorite being EFS at
Ingolstadt) but have great value because of their connection with top tier companies. So, aim for those. The salary at max varies between 4000-8000 (per
year) between a top tier company and a start-up/small scale industry.

3.Can u tell me some good programming(any other skills) that are helpful
for ASE which I can get prepared before joining ASE because I have got 2 months
left before joining?

If you are good in C and C++ then I think you are good to start. Even if
you are not good in C++ it doesn’t matter and even average C would suffice. I
know students who are not that good in programming and learned many things
during internship and thesis (I would include myself as well I guess). Better
enjoy the time you have got since life here is quite different than what you
might have lived back in your country (specially students from ASIA) and try to
enjoy and have fun discovering new things, travelling , spending time with your
family etc. But if you really have nothing to do then I would suggest to polish
your German skills. My greatest regret so far has been to not learn a single
German word before coming here.

4.What about the availability of part-time jobs for students in or near
Chemintz? Some say that it is very very difficult to get it and we have to
completely depend on parents for living in Chemintz?

Don’t depend on the fact that you might get a part time job. In fact the
chances of getting a part time job in Chemnitz without German language skills
are around 1.5223% (I just came up with that number right now so ignore it :))).
What I am trying to say is “It’s very difficult unless you can speak Deutsch”.
Getting a student assistant job in University is one option where you work part
time for around 20 hours and you get paid for doing some research or work (like
building a website etc). But usually won’t be easy to do it because of lecture
timings, language courses etc. But depends on how well you manage your time.
Also , there are jobs sometimes in restaurant where you just have to clean
vessels or something (so you don’t have to show-off your poor German skills )
but still those jobs are quite pain in the butt and also not easy to get as
well ( and underpaid sometimes).

5.Accommodation in Chemnitz. How difficult is it to get one?

I would rank Chemnitz as one of the easiest to find an accommodation.
Since students are arriving in flocks, there are many companies which have
started real estate business there. Compared to a city like Munich (Where
finding an accommodation is difficult than finding a girlfriend and also hell
expensive) Chemnitz is much on the easier side and also the cheapest. Try
websites like wggesucht ( beware of scammers specially when they tell that they
are out of the country and you must transfer some money), facebook pages of the
university or “Indians in Munich group”, GGG Wohnungen,
immobilienscout24 , and of course Chemnitz student dorms( least recommended from
my side unless if you get into V52 or V70).

6. What kind of health Insurance must I take?

I would definitely recommend TK (compared to DAK or AOK) since I have
used it and it covers the most number of health related issues (including
dental fillings). But if you are sure that you are healthy and will be then you
can also go for Mawista. It's cheaper but only covers basic health issues and
thus is not recommended by my side.

Part 2 will be posted with question and answers covering other aspects

I am almost finished with my masters and have few job offers. I did a lot of research when I started applying for jobs and found out many things and realized many mistakes I did but also many opportunities which is open out there where I can work and earn and have fun,

European Union is huge and diverse and there are a lots of countries where you can move to after finishing your masters. Even though the VISA you have or get after finishing your masters is a job search visa , which is valid for 18 months (if you have graduated from Germany or else it varies from 6 months to 1 year) you can convert it to a work visa or blue card depending upon your salary and your employer. If your salary is more than 48,000 (for someone who has not graduated from a German university ) or 38,000 (For someone who has graduated from a German University) then after probation period you get a blue card for 2 years to work and stay in European Union. With this blue card you can work like a normal European citizen with no work restrictions every year. In one of the previous blog post I had mentioned the best countries around the world where you can immigrate and settle easily.

But in this blog post I will list out the top five countries to work and settle (if you want to) based on different criteria. The criteria based on which I compared these countries were Average Salary, Number Of Jobs, Language Requirements, Cost of Living, Taxes , Social Life/Environment, Other Expenditures, Facilities. Here are my top five countries according to me based on all the criteria I considered and evaluated.

1)Switzerland- For me Swiss comes out as the best place in Europe to work and live. Before I put forth my points why it is the best I must also remind that Switzerland has been rated consistently as one of the most livable and peaceful countries in the world.Now moving on , Switzerland has quite low taxes compared to German Standards. The tax here ranges from 12-18% which is quite quite low compared to other countries. The Swiss people are paid quite heavy with almost thrice the income than countries like Germany, France etc.But This is contrary to the cost of the living which is quite expensive. I will use the term Döner Index to compare the cost where Döner is a fast food from Turkey which you can find anywhere around the Europe while travelling. So one Döner here costs 9-12 Swiss Frances (Swiss Frances and Euros are almost same at present). So yes it is very expensive and also the items in supermarkets are quite pricey.Transportation is amazing and some of the best I have seen but again expensive but modes of transport are quite limited with mostly Train taking over the entire load so a car is must have for travelling in and out of Swiss. The number of jobs are not as high as some of the other countries specially Germany but still unemployment rate is quite low and industries like Pharmacies and Health Care are booming. Engineering jobs are mostly distributed in bigger cities like Bern, Zurich and Geneva with lots of software companies in Zurich. Switzerland as a country is quite International with three major spoken languages ( German, French and Italian) and also English is spoken by most of the people. Country is beautiful with lots of natural scenes and natural beauties surrounded by mountains and lakes and is considered one of the most beautiful countries in the world with very less pollution. I would rate Switzerland low on facilities though, since there is not much going on here and nothing much happening for fun ( even open airs or festivals or music shows are limited). I would say the quality of life is good but still some people might find it boring specially if they don't speak the predominant language of the province they are living it (there is German, French and Italian spoken areas). But overall it is just amazing and best place to live and stay/settle. Also, if you want to start a new company (GmbH in German) than it is much cheaper (around 5000 euros cheaper) in Swiss than in Germany due to low taxes in all the commodities and overall taxes are low anyway. If you are able to save money out of your huge salary then you can travel to other nearby countries and have so much fun as well. And there is a possibility to learn languages here with local people (although Swiss German is crazy different than the GERMAN German).

2)Germany- Living in Germany is as good as in Switzerland depending on your situation. Lots and lots of jobs with the boom of engineering startups and companies everywhere Germany is the place to be right now. Low crime rates similar to Switzerland and low cost of living ( except the rent which is drastic in bigger cities like Munich/Hamburg) makes Germany quite ideal. So the Döner index here is 2.5-4.5 euros. I have not paid more than 4.5 euros for a Döner in Germany.The salary is not much compared to Switzerland but because of low cost of living it is justified. So if you are earning around 2000 euros in Germany after taxes you will earn 5000-6000 in Swiss after taxes. Did I just mention taxes? Ok so the taxes in Germany is a mind boggling 42%.Yes you read it right. It's almost half of what you had earned with your sheer hard work. If you are married and have kids this tax reduces a bit but hell that's not convincing enough. Transportation is again amazing (but sometimes the DB Bahn guys go for strikes and your life turns to hell) but what I found the best part was the bus connections. The bus in Germany is super cheap and connecting all major and minor cities unlike Switzerland where you don't have such bus facilities (MeinFern/Flixbus, DeinBus, PostBus, MegaBus etc). The flights are amazing and if you live in Frankfurt then all the super cheap flights are nearby your city even though Frankfurt as a city sucks big time. All the major companies around the world definitely having their base in one of the German cities for sure. Not to mention the numerous German Engineering companies which originated from here have most of the job and tasks done in here (BMW, Audi, Bosch, Siemens and many other electrical appliances). Not only engineering but other fields have a lot of jobs as well specially the big cities. Germany as a country is quite good and there are lot of activities to do , lot of stuff going on all the time (depends on the city) and some cities are quite amazing and beautiful ( Munich , Köln, Berlin is amazing). In my opinion if you have a satisfactory job and good salary and lifestyle then stick to Germany. Again learning German is quite easy here and specially if you live in a smaller city since according to my experience most of the Germans are not that good with their English and constantly try to speak in German to others.

3) United Kingdom-

The UK comes third in the list because of it's one of the few advantages over other European countries. First is the language. English is the primary language used everywhere ( even though there are lots and lots of different accents) and rarely you will find any industry or job where you might have to speak arabic or something (unless if you are a translator). Again there are lots of jobs (but mostly people from European Union are entitled to them who can speak English since for Non-Eu people visa sponsorship is next to impossible) in almost every major field and also every major company from around the globe definitely have their base at UK (thanks also to its close proximity to USA and other Eastern European countries). Cost of living fluctuates heavily depending upon whether you live in big cities (London for example) or smaller cities and cheaper places (Liverpool for example). Still the rent and cost of living is quite high I think and the salary is not that great. Average salary ranges around 30,000 pounds ( only if you are working in a highly qualified profession like engineering,medicine etc) for a fresh graduate and sometimes even less. Transportation system is just amazing and bus network is one of the cheapest I have ever seen ( I could find tickets for 1 pounds many times). Taxes are generally lower than European standards with average tax ranging around 20% (for an average pay). Now coming to Döner index. The cost of a Döner ranges from 3 to 6 pounds depending on the city you are living. Which is quite a good price and considered cheap ( 6 pounds is expensive but this is only for very expensive cities like Oxford, London , Cambridge etc). Overall the quality of life is really good and lot of multiculturalism going on and even in highly paced life in cities like London you can have fun owing to lots of concerts , activities and recreational stuff. Not to mention the flights from London to other European Countries are generally cheap thanks to advent of low cost airlines like Raynair, Norwegian etc. If you are a graduate then you do get a limited time visa to search for visa and if you are from a STEM branch (Science, Technology, Engineering and Medicine) then you have a good chance to secure a job. IF you live in a big city the chances of natural beauty and sight seeing is limited but living in a smaller city or town you can still enjoy some hobby hiking and diving activities. UK would have been at a much better position but the economical recession has hit it harder than the most and thus suffers a lot in this comparison.

4) Netherlands

The flying dutch is back and takes the fourth spot. Netherlands is quite amazing and infact comes behind Germany only because the number of jobs in Netherlands is much less compared to Germany but still the employment rate is quite high and amazing here. Even though Dutch is the official language , most of the poople can speak English and are as good as native speakers thanks to the changing culture there and the influence of Hollywood and English music industry. Again jobs are quite high specially in the field of science and engineering. Unemployment rate as of 2015 was at meager 7% and has one of the best universities for mechanical and electrical engineering ( Many students from Netherlands specially from Mechanical engineering after graduation work at top tier automotive companies in Germany directly). Dutch is a different language but easy to pick up if you speak German (Deutsche) and vice versa. Döner index is quite good and ranges from 3 to 4 euros (sometimes more but still cheaper). After graduation students get a visa for 6 months which is not so long but usually enough to get a job and it is always useful if you speak the local language. English is used primarily used in most of the international companies and many companies have set their bases in Netherlands ( but still not as much as in German or UK). The average salary in Netherlands is around 30000 euros per year for a masters graduate and more depending upon the career and company as well.The taxation is huge at 42% for average salary but still the cost of living is not expensive as it can get in Germany.The country as a whole is just amazing with loads of activities and stuff to do and many popular tourists destination (Amsterdam as usual being the favorite). Some of the companies originated from Netherlands include Philips, Landfighter, Numico, DSM, KLM, Nuon etc.

5) Sweden

Sweden comes fifth. Sweden astoundingly has huge number of jobs specially in the field of electronics/electrical and telecommunication engineering. In fact the number of job openings is so large now that the Swedish companies are becoming lenient and trying to incorporate English as the language of communication to attract more prospective employees. Big companies like ABB, Ericsson , IKEA, H&M, car giant Volvo, Scania, Gambro are some of the big companies born here and have loads of job openings. But the biggest problem is Swedish as the language of communication in companies. But now its changing which is a good sign but still loads of jobs require Swedish language proficiency. But for living and staying in Sweden , the language is not that important thanks to the influence of English language in the country. The next generation of Swedish nationals after 1990s are quite good in English and someone can reach the proficiency of native English speakers. This is due to the fact that most of the movies (Hollywood) being telecast-ed in TV are not dubbed (unlike in countries like Germany and Switzerland) and thus kids are learning English like they were born in the native countries it's spoken at. So no worries in that matter. Taxes are quite high in Sweden but still much lower than Germany and stands at 32% approximately. Döner index is similar to Germany and prices are around 3.5 to 5 euros depending on the city . Sweden as a country is beautiful but the climates are pretty average with heavy snowfall during winter and cold temperatures for around 7-8 months. But there are lots of festivals (they have snow festival in February) and quality of life is quite good (Sweden is also rated very good in the list of best countries to live). After graduation the work visa for job search is 6 months for non-Eu and usually if you have pursued Electronics/Communication Engineering then there is a good chance that your employer will apply for work permit for you. The salary in Sweden in average is quite good but don't expect salaries as high as Switzerland or Germany. The average salary in Sweden is around 25000 to 30000 SEK( Swiss Krona) per month which translates to 3000 euros per month before taxes. Which is quite good and enough for a country like Sweden.

I would probably rate Sweden and Netherlands to be quite similar in ranking and maybe whip in Austria at number 5th position since it's just an amazing country quite similar to Germany in many ways except tax which is quite low compared to Germany. Austria has amazing landscapes and loads of mountains and beautiful cities and again lots of jobs (but much less compared to Germany but still many German companies are in Austria thanks to it's close proximity) and good quality of life.

Comment here what do you think about this article and your suggestions and which Country according to you in Europe is the best to live and work in for.

The most important goal after completing
the Masters degree would be to have a job offer in hand for financial and quick
growth in career. In this post i would be explaining various factors that
influence and are needed to be taken into account before applying for a job and
how to actually apply for one. The right approach will save you the time and your search towards
the position you are willing to work as.

When we start to think about the job there are a lot of
obvious and important question popping up in our mind.

1.When is the right time

2.Necessary Documents/Skills required

3.Where to search & how to
apply

I) When is the right time:

The first thought and the important part where
most of the people do the mistake is this section. The recommended time to start
searching/applying for jobs is from the start of your last semester or the
right way to put through is, at least 3
months earlier from the day your last exam will be over.

Reason:

1.You would be well in advance to
think about where you stand.

2.The field and the position you
are really interested in.

3.what skill set you posses and
the skills you would need to fit into the position you want to apply to

4.the GPA you currently have and
what's required.

5.Based on my personal experience
it takes atleast 2 to 3 weeks for a company to review your resume and reply if
they are interested to interview you. 3 months is a nominal time frame for you
and the companies to have a look into your resume and reply back so that by the
time you complete your degree, you might have a job or at least might have had
some exposure towards interviews and the nature and expectation in the
interviews.

II) Necessary Documents/Skills required

The requirements are pretty much
straightforward and this would be another important step students should be
careful about. You would need the following

1.resume (A resume has to be
unique & relevant for every position you apply to)

An updated resume is the key. First of all the resume
has to be in the Canadian format. 2 pages maximum. List out your skills,
experience so far, skills, projects and finally you extra curricular work if
you have space. You can also include the project that you are working on in the
current semester. list out the important and relevant projects only. just a few
bullet points on what it is and your contribution in it.

2.appropriate skill set

The first few things on a resume that is must is your
skill set. Mention your skills both technical, software/hardware separately and
make it clear understandable. A glimpse on it should explain a lot about your
knowledge.

3.work experience

It is always a big advantage to have work experience
when you apply for the job. And please mention it if it is relevant to the job
position you are applying to. List out the projects you were working on in the
company and the important roles and work. Crisp and clear. And place the work
experience on your first page of resume/CV.

4.internship/co-op

Internship/Co-op in a company is a boost to your resume.
It adds another few points to your resume. You explain the part of the work you
were involved in and how far you worked while you did the internship/co-op.

5.GPA

It is always and highly recommended to have atleast 3
GPA or more when applying to companies. That is the qualification criteria.
Incase if your GPA is less and if you are planning to raise it by the current
semester, you can still apply for companies without mentioning it but make sure
you explain it to your interviewer if asked for it.

6.project works

Mention only the relevant and the few best projects you worked on
and your contribution in it. mention the technologies that were used and the
methodologies that was adapted in doing the project. crisp and clear bullet
points are enough to do the deeds.

III) Where to search & how to apply

First
update your linkedin profile with all the stuffs you have got and mention
everything in detail, there is no limit in linkedin for the space you
occupy. You can search for jobs in
linkedin by clicking on the jobs tab. and you can type the position you want
to look for and apply either on the linkedin site or sometimes the link will redirect you to their
company website. Next main job search engine is indeed.ca , this has been
successful for many people i know
personally. First upload your updated resume in indeed, with this you have
1/4 chance for companies to look for your resume and call you for interview.
Next search for the desired job and apply for the positions(based on the match
with your skill set and experience level). In some of the universities you have
the university job board where you can apply for the jobs directly(highly recommended). Other job search engines are, workopolis,
monster, jobs.ca, carrerbuild.ca, canadajobs.com etc.

Once you have applied for the job please
have patience and work for the semester as well as do some projects side by
side to keep you occupied until you are being contacted by an interviewer.
Please mention only what you know and what you have done in your resume. Make
it clear and easy for interviewer to understand and have an idea about you. It
depends on an individual and his knowledge level of getting selected in the
interviews. Even if you fail in one or more of the interviews don't feel bad, it
just gives you a hope that you are inching closer to your desired one. Learn
from your mistakes, understand the requirements in an interview and always be
neat and tidy for an interview. Always show a progress in every interview you appear for.

Author Bio

"beta" is currently working in Canada as a front end web developer and is an avid blogger and reader of this blog. If you have any questions regarding higher education in Canada post your question here and he will be willing to help and guide you in your pursuit for Masters in Canada.

When it comes to applying for internship and thesis in Germany specially in the field of engineering , the choices are limitless. Germany according to me is the land of Engineering ( except USA which is on top when it comes to computer science and IT jobs). But still most of the people find it difficult to acquire a position as an intern or Masterarbeiter (master thesis student). Actually people find it even difficult to get called for a telephonic interview. Many students attribute this to the fact that they don't speak German and their language skills (which means unable to speak German) are the main reason why none of the company here is interested in looking at their portfolio or CV. This is true to some extent. Maybe i can even confirm that 90% of the students are rejected because they don't speak German in Germany.

Vignesh is studying his masters in Computer Engineering at Concordia University. He started his masters in 2013 and is going to finish it this year. He already got a job as a full time employee at a reputed company in York and is already looking forward to pay back his education loan in the next two years.This blog post is just an interview where I discuss with him the basic questions every student has before embarking on his/her masters in Canada. I have split this video into 4 parts.

I started my masters in October 2013 and it is about time that I am done with it. It's been a long yet wonderful journey and definitely has changed me as a person for a greater good. I have become more confident, self reliant and most importantly I have learned a lot of tech stuff in these two years. Definitely more than what i had learned in my bachelors in India and believe me I had spent 4 years trying to understand what I really want to do in life (even though I still am not sure about the answer for this question :P ). But the most important part in my life during these two years was getting accepted for an internship and thesis in a German Multinational Company.

If you dream to have a well
rounded- life and a commendable career track, then studying abroad should be a
part and parcel of your life goals. Living abroad will expand your life
experience in such a way that you will be definitely enriched by it.

It is not just about
studying but also about understanding how to live in a totally different
cultural ecosystem. There are many skills which you pick up along the way. But
before you apply for studying abroad, do ensure that you have done your
research thoroughly so that you can be assured that you have made the right
choice with respect to your choice of educational institution and the country,
where you intend to reside.